Lil Yachty - Lil Boat 2

Lil Yachty
Lil Boat 2
2018
Spotify

Lil Yachty has something to say, and He really wants you to hear it. On this sequel to his most popular record to date Lil Boat 2 had Yachty no longer pushing the idea of youth and hopeful exuberance and instead is now a badass? He needs to tell you how much richer He is than you, how many more friends He has and just how fucking dope He is at rapping. The thing about Yachty that made him popular with the teens in the first place was His different take on hip hop. His songs were never constructed with rap as the center point, nor his lyrical skill. His songs were about vibe and lightness, but on this album He has all but abandoned those ideas. This is a hard trap record with tons of flexing, something Yachty has not been known for in the past. Teenage Emotions felt like Yachty was letting us see behind the curtain far to much, and like He was reaching for those teen fans so hard by coming to childish conclusions. What He found however is teenage fans don't like to be pandered too and don't like to hear what they "should" be listening too. The record missed the mark by all accounts, and I guess that inspired this change in style. Even on seemingly love songs like "love me forever" descend into a flex sesh with Yachty talking about all the things He plans to buy this person who will love him forever for it. It's a childish thought from a childish person masquerading as some kind of teen philosopher. Yet Yachty is 20 now and couldn't feel more outside of the demo He is still going after. His de facto apprenticeship with Migos has him thinking He is a real deal rapper, but that was never his vibe and still is not today.

You would expect Yachty to shrink with features like Offset, 2 Chainz and Lil Pump but He is able to hold his own simply because the songs aren't that good. "POP OUT!" is just a bunch of yelled ad libs, trappy as fuck, but boring as all hell. The structure of the songs isn't all that bad but the lines are so forgettable. Nothing sticks from this record, going in one ear and out the other instantly. It's easy to sum up with the record is about though: Yachty has money, you don't, He is making art, You need to respect it and trap. Track after track it's the same fucking thing. It is just so incredible that Yachty can go from an album called Teenage Emotions to one about gang banging, nothing makes any sense. He also isn't doing much but imitating what is currently popular in rap. He isn't pushing boundaries, ins't doing anything new but still has the audacity to dare you not to like him. I can't really imagine anyone ever listening to any of these tracks more than once because for each one there is a btter version by someone else out there. I don't know what the future holds for Lil Yachty, or if there even is a future out there, but if He continues down his current path there can't be too many more albums in his future. Get better bruh.

4.1 out of 10